Kansas Governor Laura Kelly has vetoed two bills sent to her by the state legislature.  One bill deals with abortion and the other is for an NRA-approved gun safety education program.

The governor vetoed House Bill 2313, which creates the Born-Alive Infants Protection Act to provide legal protections for infants who are born alive regardless of the intent of the delivery.  It requires medical professionals to provide care for infants that are “born alive” in a botched abortion.   In her veto message, the governor said, “This bill is misleading and unnecessary. Federal law already protects newborns, and the procedure being described in this bill does not exist in Kansas in the era of modern medicine.   The intent of this bill is to interfere in medical decisions that should remain between doctors and their patients.”    The bill was approved in the House and Senate with two-thirds majorities, indicating that the veto could be overridden.   House Majority Leader Dan Hawkins called Kelly’s veto radical and inhumane.

The other bill, House Bill 2304, standardizes firearms safety programs in school districts.  It requires children enrolled in firearm safety training programs in public schools to go through the National Rifle Association’s “Eddie Eagle” program. The program was declared to be ineffective by the American Academy of Pediatrics.  The governor issued a statement in her veto message, saying “Kansas law makes it clear that it is the role of local school boards and the State Board of Education to establish curriculum and educational standards for our students.  This bill is yet again an act of legislative overreach, an attempt to override our locally elected leaders and insert partisan politics into our children’s education.”